Startling news has been rocking the Internet, as a major French biomedical research body, the Pasteur Institute, stated recently that there are 2,349 missing vials of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus. They have launched an investigation into the disappearance of the samples after the loss was discovered during an inventory.

The Pasteur Institute then filed a “complaint against X” last week. In French law, this allows law enforcement agencies to investigate a case without targeting specific individuals or companies.

“Human error is the most probable reason, but we do not exclude anything,” Christian Bréchot, the Institute’s Director General, said, according to the AFP wire.

The internal investigation from April 8 to April 12 has confirmed the disappearance. Now, a week later, this deadly virus is still missing. The virus has a high death rate. It kills approximately 10% of those it infects. Still, the Pasteur Institute has been trying to emphasize that the missing tubes represent no danger to public health.